


The Oldest Illusion

by ReginaKatrina



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, BAMF Loki (Marvel), Established Relationship, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Magic, Protective Loki (Marvel), Secret Relationship, Serious Injuries, Thor (Marvel) is a Good Bro
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-24
Updated: 2019-10-24
Packaged: 2021-01-02 02:16:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21153935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReginaKatrina/pseuds/ReginaKatrina
Summary: True good is unachievable and true evil is unfathomable. Villains can save the world, and heroes can fall. History decided to paint Tony Stark as a champion of Earth and Loki as a mindless conqueror, so they kept their private lives under lock and key. The world’s prejudices could be challenged another day.But when Tony is in the clutches of a monster, broken and dying, Loki refuses to stand by and watch.





	The Oldest Illusion

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a criminally long time since I wrote and posted something so I'm really excited to share this. I haven't written anything for the MCU before but this was really fun to work on and I'm already planning on writing more!

“Oh my God, I’m going to die.” Tony wheezed, coughing violently. The metal of his suit bent and cracked from the grip the unrelenting grip the monster held him in. One scaly, clawed hand wrapped around his chest, the other tore his helmet off as it let out an ear-piercing screech. Talons scraped across the back of his head and he gritted his teeth through a scream. 

The pain was too much. The grotesque beast’s maw opened, thick drool sliding through its dagger-like teeth. Then, everything went black.

When he came to, he was numb. Everything felt like cotton; soft and warm, but also slightly uncomfortable. There was a cool hand gently cradling the back of his head where he knew he’d lost a lot of blood from. It should hurt… but it didn’t. A tingling sensation flowed through his aching body in the place of pain. It felt like the glorious sensation of drinking a cold glass of water during a heatwave. He didn’t want to open his eyes, he just wanted to go back to sleep and enjoy this comfort.

“Shh, stay with me.” A soothing voice whispered. Tony forced himself to open his eyes to look at his saviour, and  _ holy shit. _

“Loki,” he murmured. He gave a weak smile which Loki returned, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He couldn’t figure out what Loki was thinking. His brow was furrowed in concern and hot rage danced within his eyes. 

Loki said nothing as he reached down to Tony’s chestplate and tore it off effortlessly. The sudden ability to breath properly without being constricted left Tony gasping for air. He shot upright and fisted a hand in Loki’s leather jacket.

Only when he looked up did he see the decapitated head of the ugly creature that he’d been fighting. Its body was nowhere to be seen, so Tony assumed it must be on the other side of the hazy green dome that protected them from the rest of the world. They were still in the park where the monster had originally burst out of the sewers. Tony could smell the wet grass beneath him, but the stench of blood and death hung in the air.

Tony closed his eyes and leaned into Loki’s soft touches. He listened as Loki whispered in an otherworldly tongue and relaxed into his chest as the cold energy rushed through his body. It was like whiskey on the rocks on a hot day; chilling and invigorating all at once. He let the calming feeling seep through his body. Pain slipped away as if it was pouring out of his body. When it was all done, he buried his head in Loki’s chest.

“That was too close.” Tony breathed a sigh of relief into Loki’s jacket. He didn’t want to move. This was comfortable. He was safe here with Loki. The leather was soft and the rich, earthy scent covered the sickly stench of the severed head lying on the grass beside them.

“Indeed.” Loki replied. His voice had a hint of sadness, worry and something else Tony couldn’t pinpoint. He’d never been able to read Loki. “Too close.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “Your friends aren’t happy. I’ve protected us with a shield – not even Thor can break it – but we can’t stay here forever.”

Tony whined. He was exhausted. All he wanted to do was go to sleep. He didn’t want to deal with any of this. There was just too much to unpack in one conversation. He’d need a full powerpoint presentation and a few binders packed full of notes to get through all that had happened to lead them to this point and there were  _ still _ parts neither of them could explain. Tony leaned back a bit to look at Loki’s face. 

“How did you know?” He asked, barely aware that he was even speaking. The question had nagged on his mind ever since he’d awoken in the safety of Loki’s arms.

Loki smiled. “You told your God that you were going to die. Was I supposed to  _ ignore _ that?” He would almost sound offended if he didn’t have that damn grin on his face.

“How…?” Tony didn’t even know how to phrase what he wanted to ask. But Loki knew.

“You may not have been thinking of me, but…” Loki paused. He raked a hand through his hair and composed himself. “You believe in me. So I heard you.”

“Of course I believe in you.” Tony explained. “My guardian angel,” he said softly. The blush on Loki’s cheeks was something he’d wished he had his helmet on for just so he could take a picture. He spent a while simply admiring his saviour’s face, then sighed as he remembered where they were.

“What do we do?” Tony asked. “About them, I mean.” He nodded his head towards where he knew his teammates were. The green dome had an ethereal quality to it, warping and shifting as if it were alive. Every now and then it would brighten ever so slightly, casting an emerald glow over Loki’s sharp features. It matched his eyes, Tony noticed fondly.

“Well.” Loki said, glancing around them and humming. “We’re going to have to face the music at some point.”

Tony chuckled at his use of what Loki had previously called ‘pitiful mortal idioms’. 

“Alright,” Tony said. This was  _ not _ how he saw his day going. “Okay, just do it quickly before I change my mind.”

His suit was in tatters, so he shut it down and kicked off the broken pieces of metal. Loki stood, then outstretched a hand to help Tony up, which he accepted gratefully. As soon as he was on his feet, the green dome fizzled away, and Tony suddenly felt incredibly vulnerable.

Before he knew what was happening, Captain America’s shield was flying through the air towards Loki, who effortlessly raised a long, narrow blade defensively. The shield struck the side of the blade with a sharp clang, then ricocheted off into the grass. Loki  _ smirked _ .

“Before you do something you’ll  _ really _ regret,” Loki started, voice low and serious. A small shiver worked its way up Tony’s spine. “Just remember; if I wanted him dead, he’d be dead already.”

Unsurprisingly, Thor was the first to step forwards. “Loki, you saved him!” 

“Saved him just to kill him, more like.” Natasha sniped. She had a gun aimed steadily at Loki’s head. Tony tried to step forward to put himself between them, but stopped when he felt Loki gently touch his wrist.

“We all saw my brother slay this beast.” Thor stated plainly. He sounded confused - hell, Tony couldn’t blame him. But there was also a hint of pride in his words. “He saved us all.”

“I killed that beast to save Stark,” Loki hissed venomously. Despite the bitterness in his voice, he sheathed his blade and fearlessly stood unarmed.

Thor stared at Loki, seemingly deep in thought, for a few moments. Then something seemed to click and his eyes went wide, a smirk playing on his lips. Loki glared at him and Thor chuckled. 

“Hey, I have a great idea.” Tony declared, choosing to speak up now before bullets and arrows started flying alongside the harsh words. “How about we have this conversation back at the tower? I can order pizza! Who wants pizza?”

That earned him more than a few ‘fuck you’ looks from everyone but Thor, who grinned widely at the idea of a feast. Steve, however, snapped a sharp “shut up, Tony.”

Tony felt Loki grab his arm. That nagging feeling of vulnerability diminished slightly at the familiar touch.

“Let him go.” Steve demanded, squaring his stance and curling his fists.

“You heard the man,” Loki replied, ignoring the Captain. “We’ll be having this conversation back at your headquarters.”

Tony closed his eyes as he felt the familiar cool rush of magic envelope him. The sounds of the busy streets and the excited civilians faded away, and when Tony opened his eyes he found himself stood in the middle of the lounge in the Avengers tower. He was grateful to finally be away from prying eyes.

Loki turned to him, his iciness melting as he gently cupped Tony’s cheek. Tony lost himself in those shining green eyes; his safety net. Loki was always there to catch him. 

Tony had a thousand things he wanted to say in that moment, but wasn’t allowed a single one. Loki had already closed the distance between them and pressed his lips against Tony’s. He let his eyes shut as he leaned into the contact, lovingly wrapping his arms around Loki and tugging him into a warm embrace. 

It was soft and chaste. Loki didn’t even need words to say  _ ‘I’m glad you’re alive.’ _ He said it with the way he delicately stroked Tony’s cheek, sighing contentedly when Tony hugged him tighter. Loki trailed his fingers along Tony’s neck, pausing subtly on his pulse before settling it at the nape of his neck. He wrapped his other arm around Tony’s waist, holding him firm and close. When they parted, Loki’s brow was knitted in concern.

“I cannot lose you.” He quietly confessed. He took a deep breath before continuing. “This realm needs you, of course… But not as much as I do. Thank you for having faith in me, Antony Stark.”

“Hey, I’ll always believe in you.” Tony softly replied, heart swelling in his chest. A tender smile graced Loki’s face. Tony could have lost himself in the shining green eyes staring back at him. “Thank you for saving me.”

“I always will,” Loki assured tenderly. Tony gently kissed him once more before addressing JARVIS.

“J, order our usual from that pizza joint on Maryland,” Tony said, sauntering over to the sofa before promptly collapsing comfortably into it. “And order enough to feed an angry mob of superheroes.” Loki chuckled as he sat himself next to Tony. “Oh, and get two boxes of those cheesy dough balls they do. My King loves his dough balls.” He added with a wink. “I’m  _ starving _ ,” he mused to himself.

“Yes,” Loki said, rolling his eyes. He followed Tony over to the sofa nonetheless. “Death’s doorstep will do that to you.” He scolded, though there was no malice behind his words.

Tony lifted his head and shuffled until he was resting his head in Loki’s lap. He curled one hand around Loki’s and held on tightly. With his free hand, Loki delicately brushed some of Tony’s hair away from his face before raising it. 

Tony watched as wide-eyed as he always did when Loki waved a hand and two glasses filled themselves with whiskey from the bar before floating over to them. He was mesmerised by the faint shimmer of gold following in their wake.

“Are you sure you can’t read my mind?” Tony asked, smirking as he sat up to sip at his drink. He leaned against Loki, enjoying his presence. 

“After all this time,” Loki hummed, intertwining his fingers with Tony’s, “I really don’t think I need to.”


End file.
